Post-hole auger.



R. C. POWERS.

POST HOLE AUGER.

APPLlcATloN HLED APR. 3. 1914s.

1 ,217,062. Patented Feb.'20, 1917.

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POST HOLE AUGER. APPLICATION man APR.3.1916.

1 ,217,062.' Patented Feb. 20, 1917.

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RICHARD C.l BOWERS, OF AIKTOW, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA.

rosT-HOLE Avena.

To all whom t may concern: p Be it known that I, RICHARD C. Pownns,a-subject of the 'King of Great Britain, rresiding at Ailtovv, in theProvidence of Sas katchewan and :Dominion of Canada, vhave invented new.and `useful 'Improvements @in PostsHole Angers, of which fthelfollowing is a specification. Y

This invention yrelates to post hole angers, and vit has for :its.object to produce adevice of this `class -of simple and improvedconstruction in which fthe length oi' the shank carrying .the .augerhead maybe varied so -as :to maintain .the operatingha-ndle atapproximately the .same .distance above thek ground, irrespectivelofxthedep'th `oi the hole.

A 4further object of the; invention .fis A:to ,provide a Y stem, the`lemgth of which Imay-bee'asil-yand quickly varied. v

A further object of :the invention is -to produce a posthole'augerhaving anlexte'nsible `and collapsible stem composed of tubular sections sliding Aone Within the other, Y simple and impro-vedmeans lbeing lprof vided for maintaining the sections in adsists in .theimproved construction andnovel justed position with .respect to each(other.

With these .and other ends in view Vwhich Will readily appear :as the"-na-ture tof the invention is better understood, Ythe sameVconarrangement land lcombination of parts which Will be claims. n t

In the accompanying draw-ings has been illustrated a .simple andpreferred form Vof the invention, it .bei-ng. however, .understood thatno limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural ,detailstherein lexhibited, but that changes, .alterations and modificationsWithin .the .scope .of .the .cl aims may ybe resorted `'to ywhendesired.

YIn the drawings-4 Figurel is :a view in iside .eleva-tion of .a deviceconstructed win .accordance with the invention and shovving the stemcollapsed.

Fig.v 2 is ya sectionalview .taken substantia'lly at right angles :toFig. .1 on lthe Yline 2-2 in said `figure, `and showing -the stemextended. v

3 isa transversesectionzrtl view taken on .the line 3 8 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 1l is a `perspective yview of the jaw carrying frame and relatedparts detached from the inner tube. f f

. `Specification of Letters'IPatent.

-posthole auger With ya telescopic particularly pointed out in the inadeof plate steel., .the

. 'FigV 5 isiasectional detail view taken on the :line v545 in Fig. 2.Y' .6 .is a perspective detail viev7 with parts broken yavvay showingthe 'top portion or `l`handle of the device, and showing also themeansfor 'operating the plunger Whereby lthe locking jawsfare actuated.Corresponding parts in'theseveral figures are `denoted by )likecharacters of reference.

The Astem .of fthe improved device is 4composed :oftubular members, oneof vvhich, 15, slides ior 'telescopes Within Ithe other mem,- ber T16.The 'tubularmembers 15, 16 are o f square'lor other non-circularcrosssection to prevent relativefa-Xial rotation of said mem-4 bers. Themember 15, which ifor Vconvenience may xbecalled the upper member,terminates its kupper end Iin a neck 17 which is i'threaded forthe`reception' of a Ticou! pling 18,-Jthe head of `which* receives `a rodor handle y1910i proper length to furnish jsuificient leverage 1inoperating'the device.V The lower rtubular'membe'r 16 Yterminates 'at itslowerend Sin :a-threadedv-neck2() on which the auger head 21is'fmount'ed. A

.The side Walls o'f the lower tubular member 16 :are provided with'oppositely located apertures 22, fthe rvsaidl apertures being disvposed :in longitudinal Vseries tov'vard 1the length of lthe member '16,saidapertures being' :adapted 'to ibe'e'ngaged 1by locking devices lthat`are v.associated with the tubular member i155 and which will fnoiv`bedescribed; Fitted in the lower-end of the tubular fmember Y15 is arectangular trame 28, 4preferably lower end of said frame having ilttedtherein a block or .cast-l ing :21l^=With which 1j avis `25'arepivotally connected by pins or pivot jaws being provided at their "upperends With lopposed bevel ifaces 27. The jaws 25 are provided onallyiextending pins or engaging members 28 that extend throughregistering apertures l29, 30 in ithe iframe y28 and in thetu'be 15"said pins 28 beingadapted to engage the apertures 122 :inf the tubularlmember 16. Flat springs 80 are interposed Abetween 'the jaws l25 and'the -vvalfls of'tlhe frame 23, the tendencyzof'sai'd springs vbeingY'to torce the jawvs 25 Ain #the :direction lof reach 'other Aso as toWithdraw the pins 28 ff-rom engagement with the. aperturesv 22, therebypermitting the tubular members 15, 1:6 to move longie tuidinally withrespect to each other.' `For Patented Feb. 20, 1917, Application ledApril-13, 19116. 'lSeral No.- 88,687. y

lmembersg26, 'said their outer 'faces vvithrlaterf the purpose ofactuating the jaws to project the pins 29 in engagement with theaj'iertures there is provided a wedgeshaped plunger 31 which is adaptedto engage between the beveled faces 27 of the jaws 25. rlhe plunger 31is carried by a rod 32 which extends through the handle 19 and throughthe head of the T-coupling 18, said head being provided with a lug 33 onwhich is fulcrumed a lever 34 with which the rod 32 is pivotallyconnected, said lever having a loop 35 that surrounds the head of thelf-coupling, said loop being of such dimensions as to enable the leverto be conveniently actuated. A, coiled spring 36 is interposed betweenthe plunger 31 and the top of the frame 23 to force the plunger in adownward direction in engagement with the beveled faces of the jaws 25,the latter being thereby spread apart to cause the pins 28 to engage theapertures 22. By manipulating the lever 34E the plunger may be withdrawnin an upward direction, thereby enabling the jaws to be actuated by thesprings 30 thereby retracting the pins 28 from the apertures 22.

The frame 23, the block 24k and the springs 30 are assembled with theinner or upper tube at the lower end of the latter by means of atransverse pin or screw 37.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the drawingshereto annexed, the operation and advantages of this invention will bereadily understood.

lt is well known that the ordinary Ypost hole auger is composed of astem carrying at one end an auger head and at the other end a cross baror handle whereby the auger may be rotated. When the stem is madesufficiently long to enable a post hole of proper depth tobe bored, itwill be found that at the time of starting the auger in the ground thecross bar or handle will be so high above the ground that it may not beeasily reached or manipulated by a person standing on the ground,particularly when such person is below the average stature. On the otherhand, when a deep hole is bored, the operator, if of average stature, iscompelled to bend over or even to kneel upon the ground to a positionwhich is very inconvenient for properly manipulating the auger. By thepresent invention, at the time of starting the auger head in the ground,the telescoping members of the handle may be collapsed, therebypresenting the handle in a convenient position for the operator, nomatter whether he be tall or short. As the auger enters the ground, thestem may be extended at intervals by simply manipulating the lever 3e toraise the plunger 31, thereby causing the pins 28 of the jaws 25 to bedisengaged from the apertures 22 in the lower tubular section of thestem, thereby enabling the upper section 15 to bc raised as far as maybe desired, after which, by releasing the lever 34%, the spring actuatedplunger will force the jaws 25 apart, thereby placing the pins 28 inengagement with apertures 22 other than those previously engagedthereby. lt will be readily seen that by such adjustment of the membersof the stem, the handle whereby the tool is operated may be maintainednearly at a constant distance above the ground in the most convenientposition for the operator, thereby facilitating the work, reducing thestrain and enabling the work to be performed in less time and with muchless effort than when an ordinary tool having a non-adjustable stem isemployed.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is

1. A device of the class described comprising a lower tubular member ofnon-circular cross section, an upper tubular member telescoping therein,spring actuated jaws supported in the lower end of the upper member andhaving laterally extending pins adapted to be projected through thewalls of the lower member, said walls being provided with rows ofapertures for engagement with said pins, and means for forcing thespring actuated jaws against the tension of their actuating springs.

2. In a device of the class described, a i

tubular member having opposite side walls provided with rows ofapertures, a second tubular member telescoping and non-revolu ble withrespect to the first mentioned member, a rectangular frame mounted inthe lower end of the second tubular member, a block mounted in the lowerend of the rectangular frame, jaws pivoted on said block and havingbeveled end faces and laterally extending pins extending through thewalls of the rectangular frame and the tubular member in the directionof the apertures in the side walls of the first mentioned tubularmember, fiat actuating'springs whereby the jaws are actuated to retractthe laterally extending fingers with respect to the apertures in theside walls of the first mentioned tubular member, a wedge-shaped plungercarried by the second tubular member, a spring whereby said plunger isprojected in the direction of the beveled faces of the jaws, means forretracting the plunger against the tension of its actuating spring, 'anda transverse fastening member whereby the rectangular frame, the jawcarrying block and the jaw actuating springs are assembled with thesecond mentioned tubular member.

3. In a device of the class described, a lower tubular member ofrectangular cross section carrying an auger head at its lower end, theside walls of said tubular member being provided with series ofperforations, an upper tubular member of non-circular cross sectionslidably engaging the lower tubular member7 a handle bar at the upperend of the upper tubular member, a lever fulcrumed on the handle bar andhaving a loop surrounding the same7 a rectangular frame mounted in thelower end of the upper tubular member, said frame and member havingregistering apertures, spring actuated jaws supported at the lower endof the rectangular frame, said jaws having pins that project through theregistering apertures and said jaws being provided with opposed bevelfaces, a wedge-shaped plunger slidable in the upper portion ofV therectangular frame and engaging the beveled Copies of this patent may beobtained for five cents `faces of the jaws, a

spring interposed between the plunger and the upper end por-` tion ofthe rectangular frame, and a stem extending through the spring and theupper end portion of the rectangular frame, said stem being connected atone end with the plunger and at the other end with the lever ulcrumed onthe handle bar.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RICHARD C. POWERS. Witnesses: l

LILLIE l/V. STODDART, Y E. A. MATTHEWS.

nach, by addressing-.the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

